Convertible freight-car.



mwwwm A. H, PRlTCHARD.

CONVERTIBLE FRElGHT CAR.

MPLICAUON FILED DEC. 3hl'z1i7.

Patented Nov. 5, 191%.

4- SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Aria/WEN? ATTORNEY '5.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Nov. 5, 1915..

A. R. PHITCHARD.

CONVERTIBLLFREIGHT CARR APPLXCATION FILED DEC-31.1%].

A. R PRITGHARD.

CONVERTIBLE FREIGHT CAR.

APPLICATION FILED umsl. 1917.

Patented NOV. 5, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 A. H. PRITCHARD.

CONVERTIBLE FRElGHT CAR. APPLiCATlON F'ILED DEC.3I. 191T.

Patented Nov. 5, 1915,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4 BV 1 QWML WW nrromvEm.

the etunoclirection are in Ettieetfieettmi of Letters; Jtatent.

lthttehteet htotn it,

tipplieetion tiled Jtteeemher 2M, 11.917. Eteriol tt'o. ttttttt-tttt.

To all witom it may concern:

Be it known that L ALBERT Phrrormeo, a citizen of the lilnited titetes, residing" in the borough oi hitahhettmi, city county, Midi State oi. New York, have made EW EtlH (Mid useful Yiiprovetttente in Center: tl Freight-tiers, ot Wi'lifii'l the foilowiiig is at specification.

My invention rehttee treigght om has as its principal object to preview l I oer so designed. that it they he oeetl either it iOU/E ear or the :1 coal oer.

The eeeonel ohjoet of my intention is to provide at car Whioh may he used either as St heir. oer e cool oer or o. :tlot t,

.horther ohjeote of my inven ion will epoeor from the following; epeeiiioetiorr eml oieime.

he is Well known, it is inipreotioehle to ship certain classes: of freight in heir oer Whiie it else ioriprttotioehle to ship other eiessee oit' freight in it cool. our, meal it im preetieohle to ehip eertoih ohteeee oit trei in either the hot car or the o Etl olet oer being heeeeettry. The consequence it mt the reilroetl companies t me? it "neces- Sztry to keep on httiiti more core of eeeh type then their average hueiiiese eelie :t'or. ii /i011?! over, it is neceseury to move or lertge torme ege oi empty core owingto the teat that the ewe oi? 21 certain type are at certain points When the need for them arises, and not poesihle to use cars of other types. lit'is eritleht from this that the nontonvertihility of the care how in use causes unnecessary eirpeme not only from the additional investment in cars 2.13mi sirlings but also in the .etltlitionel opers'ition it have ehottn'in the oeeomptmying tirewings forming pert oi? this o'ppiiee. tron two practical terms oi core ettreottymtg my ilQVBIltlOtL in eeirl t'trwwitlg'e Figure It is on elevetionejl View portly broken away out e oer emhotlyimr my intent-- tion in one term thereof. 7

Fig. 2. is an elevetionel View ioolting in 1, anti showitl the some oer arranged as for carrying coal. Fig. 8 ie tr cross section taken on the time 3- 3 of Fig 1 looking in the direction of the errot-v'e F r. 3

is atv sectional View on the line loolmig in the direction oil the er the line o e oil We",

int; the manner, oat eeeemhling and separating certain of the ports appearing; in Fig. 3.'

.i ig. is a. top plan VIiQW of ti portion of o. cm as arranged in. l'iig'. E3.

lii e l ti it e detail. seetionel View on. the time w 0 2t tletoil eeetioheti View on the line i t t hi e". e rletzril View in perepeetive ehorm iiogg' the lower porticm of one of the sicle poete ot the tloorrtoy and its reletion to the surroundingpttrte Lt 1g. It is e cleteil seetionztl View showing e moolitiecl arrangement tor attaching the other panels to the lower eitle 'g iz'mele.

hey. til is e tletoil. eepemrtetl view showing the manner of assembling. the ritigepole, with the end ot' the cor.

i1 is perspective View showing; the tmtler eicle of e portion o't'one out the roof roemhere.

M it) is; e perspective VitBW of the riclgepole 1-? is it perspective View or e portion o't one eat the upper tletaehehle side memhere.

upper cletaehahie end. members.

Fig. 15 is :t perspective view showing the morler portion of the running hoard liig. 11.6 an elemtional View rtttrtly seperetetl eimilerto Fig. 2, of e eeoontl form ot m r mnhotlyintt my invention,

Fig. it? is a. detail erosesection taken on the line (t-0; of Fig. 1G i i it ie 2t ioteil sectional View taken on th e no h---h of Fig" 16.

"' 'til sectional View teherxjoh t 16, looking in the tlireeo ot the errott'et i Q0 is 2t tleteil irootthoot the eepemte' Views the some port it tleeignetett hy the some reference eheroeterz.

liteterrittg; more p.-u-tioul:wly to the drew-- l. is the center sill of it oer running loiitritutlinell gt thereof the part]; being of any standard or preferred construction. The

ortlinory stohtlortl tlmtt and running gear are preterehly oseooietetl with the sill 1 in the moat manner. Etupporteti from the sill it hy e'o'itehle hoistere 9 are two sicle sills, such are 3, which are shown to slightly shorter than the center E-Jili, but slightly longer them the olimeneiohe oi the cor over the upright end members. Supported by the side sills 3 are composite lower side members or panels, such as 4, comprising vertical T- bars such as 5, the lower ends of which overlap the side sills 3, and which are fastened thereto pernnuicntly as by rivets, as shown in Fig. 3, or by a detachable connection as desired. At the upper ends of the T members 5 are horizontal Z-members, such as 6, of special cross section, arranged on the inside of the members 5, and within the Z-members b are plates such as 7, the members 5, 6 and 7 being riveted together to form the panels 4. The two side panels -11 are spaced apart on both sides of the car to provide a doorway, is usual in box car construction, and the edge of the panel at the doorway is formed with a vertical spacing plate, such as 8, of the same thickness as the lower portion ot' the Z-bar G, a channel iron. such as 9, on the outside of said plate. and a. recessed or rabbetcd plate, such as 10, on the inside of the plate 7, the members 9 and 10 projecting into the door space from the members 7 and 8 and forming a vertical recess or slot, the purpose of which will appear herein below.

When the car is to be used as a box car, the sides must be built up above the panels 4 and a roof structure, as well as doors, must be provided. For this purpose I provide upper side members or panels, such as 11, which are designed to rest upon the panels 4 and which comprise a lower horizontal channel-bar, such as 12, the recess 13 in the lower edge of which is designed to fit over the upwardly extending flange of the Z-bar 6. The members 12 support vertical plates such as 14, plates 11 being preferably corrugated to combine lightness with strength, the lower edges of plates 1-1 being held between complementary corrugated surfaces of clamping plates, such as 15 and 16, which are riveted in turn t the members 12. The upper edges of the plates 14: are also clamped between plates, such as-17 and 18, which are corrugated to fit the plates 1st, members 14, 17 and 18 beingheld together by countersunk rivets. In order to hold the panels 11 securely on the Z-mcmbers (S of the panels 4, I provide set screws, such as 19, the ends of which are designed to engage in recesses, such as 20, in the members 6.

Supported in part on the panels 11 are roof-members of panels such as 21, which comprise channel-bars or members 22, running along the outer edges of the panels 21, and having a slot or recess in their lower edges adapted to receive the plates 17 and 18 at the upper edges of the panels 11. The panels 21. are. only half the width of the car and at their inner edges comprise angleirons, such as 23, one web of which extends vertically downward and is adapted to engage in a slot provided in the ridge-pole.

The ridge-pole is shown at and comprises a central vertical web or plate 27), on each side of which are riveted Z-bars. such as 26, the upper flanges of the Z-bars being offset from the plate 25 to provide sockets or recesses for receiving the angle-irons 23. The panels 21 are secured to the panels 11 and to the ridge-pole 'i-l by means of set screws in a way similar to the action between pan els 1 and 11. The plates of the panels 21 connecting the members and 23 are preterably formed largely of corrugated metal riveted to the members 22 and The central web or plate 25 of the ridgepole is made sulliciently wide to project above the root panels 21, so that a running board 27 may be conveniently attached thereto, said member appearing in detail in Fig. 15 and comprising a pair of downwardly projecting flanges such as 28, which run one on each side of the longitudinal center line of the running board. forming a slot for the reception of the upper cdge of the 4 member 25. The running board 27 is provided with hand holes, such as 29, through which bolts may be inserted into conveniently provided holes in the flanges 28 and plate 25,, to hold the running board in place. The lower end panels, such as 30 (see Fig. 3) are constructed similarly to the side panels l. Mounted on the panels 30 are upper end panels such as 31, preferably formed largely or corrugated metal. the upper and lower edges of the panels Ill being eonstructed sin'lilar to the corrcspomling parts of panel 11. The vertical side edges ot pancls 31, however, are provided with :lllglc-llohs such as shown in Figs. 7 and 1l,'\vhich provide recesses for receiving the vertical edges of the panels 11, the end memberssuch as 33, of the panels 11 havinq bplt" holes therein corresponding to holes lll members 32, whereby the parts may be. secured together. T he connection between the roofmembers 21 and the end panels 31 issuinlar to that, between the panels Bland 11, as appears clearly from Figs. 11 and 1.1. Y The ridge-pole is provided with notches, such as 34:, at the ends of the center plate 25, the notches 34 receiving the upper edges of the panels 31 to prevent longitudinal movement of the ridge-pole. andthe panels 31 also are provided with notches. such as 35. for receiving the center plate to prevent lateral movement ot the ridge-pole.

I may provide pins. such as 36, at the up per edgesot the panels 11 for entering socle ets, not. shown, in the channel members 22 of the panels 21 to position panels 11 and ll with respect to each other and further hold the same in place.

Referring more particularly to Figs. lti to 20 inclusive,' l have therein illustrated a. fur ther extension of my idea as embodied in Figs. 1 to 15 inclusive, in that Figs. 10 to 20 inclusive showan arrangement wherein I such as 39 to the lower a be boltedto a0 upper edges of the members 47 and 48 oi the members 9 rename the lower panels also may be removed to produce a flat car. As shown in Fig. 16, the

side sills 3 have plates, such as 37 and 38, riveted thereto forming sockets for the reception of the lower ends of the vertical members such as 5 and 9 of the panels 4. The end panels, such as 30' are supported in a similar manner to the panels 4', and for further security may attach angle-irons edges of the panels 4 and 30', and bolt the members 39 to the side sills 3 as indicated in Figs. 19 and'l'l. A hand hole, such as 40, may be provided in the lower floor of the car for this purpose. The end member fied, in that it is provided with angle-irons, such as 41,

at its vertical edges which may the adjacent edges of the panels 4. In other particulars the arrange ment shown in Figs. 16' to 20 is identical with that shown in Figs. 1 to 15 inclusive.

The door structure for each of the embodiments of my invention is'illustrated in -1 and 3?, where indicates'a door member, wheels, such as 46, which run on the inturned flanges of. members 47 and 48. The

are members 22 by means of and are supported by bars are arranged in the panels when the door is in use,

projecting above the members 9 to the level of thereof member 22 and being fastened spaced from the blocks, such as 49, such as 51, which tofmembers 22, 47 and 48 by bolts such as 50. The lower ends of the bars 51 are tastoned to the side sills '3 by bolts, such as 52,

protects; the lower edges I moved bytaking out the bolts thebolt's '52 also securing in place a diron 53, the upwardly extendingflange of which of. the door; It will be evident that the doors and supporting structures therefore can be easily re- 50 and 52. It

will be seen that bars 51 not only assist in supporting the door structure, but also reside and end panels,

which reference was tide/sills 3,

inforce the framework of the car around the door-way. r

When it is desired to change one of my improved'cars from a box car type to a coal car type, the roof structure and the upper together with the doors, are removed and one at the upper side panels isinverted and placed across the door-way, the edges of panel 11 being inserted into the slot formed by members 9 and 10,- to previously made. The parts not in use may be stored in the space 41 between the upper floor-plates 42 and the lower floor plates 43, plates 42 and 43 being supported on the side sills.

or the plates 42, 'orby removmgan end cap, such sis-44, which overlies. the ends of the 30' is also further modithe, upper edge of which carries beneath Access to thespace 41'may be obtained byraising certain of said walls are tilt ' lit will be seen that T have provided means whereby a given car may be used either as in one instance, or either as a box car, coal car or flat car in the other instance. ll lorcover, the detaclr when it is desired to again change the type of car.

lit will be understood that l have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention as now known to me, but I do not wish to be limited to the arrangement or form oi the parts herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, ll. claim: a

1. A freight car having a detachable roof and including means forming a storage space for said roof when detached beneath the floor of said car. j

2. A freight car comprising a detachable roof, detachable side members for supporting said roof, and means providing a stor age space for said roof and side members when detached beneath the floor of said car.

3. A convertible freight car adapted for use as a box car or coal car, comprising detachable upper side members constructed and arranged when the car is used as a bot: car to provide a doorway, and detachable door members for closing said doorway when desired, one of said members being proportioned to form a fixed closure for the lower portion of said door space when the car is used as a coal car.

4. A convertible freight car adapted for use as a box car or coal car, comprising a floor, detachable upper side members, a do tach'able roof structure, a storage space for said the door of the car.

5. A convertible freight car adapted "for use as a box car or coal car, comprising detachable upper side members constructed and arranged when the car is used as a box freight car comprisiup,- a her-mentally so that the said walls is removablegtrom and means forming roof and members said floor and the upper part out said walls is removable from the lower part,a removable root, and means forming a storage space for said walls. and roof beneath said tloor.

. 7. A. convertible freight car comprising a floor walls composed of a plurality oil. members and divided horizontally so that the lower members cit said walls are removable t'rom said door and the upper members removable trom' said lower members, a removable roof, and means forming a storage space for said well members and-said roof beneath said floor.

8. A convertible freight ear comprising a 5 floor, walls composed of a plurality of members and divided horizontally so that the lower members of said walls are removable from said floor and the upper members of said walls are removable from said lower members, said walls being so constructed 10 that when the car is used as a box car a doorway is provided, and removable door members for closing said doorway when desired, one of said upper wall members being proportioned to form a fixed closure for said 16 doorway when the car is used a coal car.

ALBERT R. PRITCHARD. 

